As the SUV crept along the frontage road of I-35, the wheels rolled over power lines and Brad Mack looked around at the crumpled cars strewn like tin cans along the freeway.

When the car couldn't go any farther, Mack of Buena Park and Van Nuys resident Gene Blevins got out, grabbed their photo and video equipment and started documenting the devastation wrought by the tornado that touched down Monday in Moore, Okla., leaving a path of destruction and death.

"I saw people consoling each other, and a lot of it was trying to recognize what had actually been there before," Mack said. "It was just rubble."

At 47, Mack has chased storms for the past five years and had arrived Friday in Tornado Alley with no idea that he was about to stumble upon a massive twister that has evoked memories of Joplin, Mo.

He was in Joplin, too, and said the disaster there that claimed almost 160 lives in 2011 remains the worst thing he's ever seen.

But he said he hadn't taken in enough of what befell Moore to draw many comparisons.

"The worst thing we saw was a building that had pancaked on itself," Mack said. "You could see the firefighters on the roof and you're like, 'Oh, my goodness.'"

He said it was a medical center and he saw three people pulled out of the wreckage. He said they'll head to some of the other parts of the city today to see what else needs to be documented.

Mack, a Vernon firefighter, said they were about 40 miles south of Norman when the tornado hit Moore and they spent about an hour crawling up the frontage roads along the interstate to get to the edge of the disaster zone.

He said they'll remain there for a few more days.

How to help

The fastest way to help the victims of Monday's tornadoes that ravaged parts of Oklahoma is to donate money directly, according to Daphne Hart, regional communications manager for the Red Cross.

Checks should be clearly made out to the "American Red Cross" with the words "Tornado relief" written on the memo line.

The monetary donations, said Hart, allow volunteers in the field to quickly mobilize temporary housing and to purchase the things they need, a more efficient and less costly practice than trucking in food from across the country.

Related Links

Rescuers lift a wounded person in the aftermath of the tornado in this still image taken from a video of storm chaser Brad Mack. BRAD MACK
A child is passed along a human chain after being pulled from the rubble of the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., on Monday. A tornado as much as half a mile wide with winds up to 200 mph roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school. SUE OGROCKI, AP
This aerial photo shows the remains of homes hit by a massive tornado in Moore, Okla., on Monday. STEVE GOOCH, AP
Rescuers carry a wounded person in this still image taken from a video by storm chaser Brad Mack. BRAD MACK
A boy is pulled from beneath a collapsed wall at the Plaza Towers Elementary School after a tornado in Moore, Okla., on Monday. SUE OGROCKI, AP
A man carries a child in the aftermath of the tornado in this still image from a video by Brad Mack. BRAD MACK
Flipped vehicles are piled up outside the heavily damaged Moore Medical Center after a powerful tornado ripped through the Moore, Okla., area Monday. BRETT DEERING, GETTY IMAGES
Rescuers lift a wounded person in the aftermath of the tornado in this still image taken from a video of storm chaser Brad Mack. BRAD MACK
Smashed cars and building debris are seen in this still image taken from a video by Brad Mack. BRAD MACK
The sky is dark behind the ravaged buildings and cars in this image from a video by Brad Mack. BRAD MACK
Moore police dig through the rubble of the Plaza Towers Elementary School after a tornado in Moore, Okla., on Monday. SUE OGROCKI, AP
A Moore Medical Center patient sits in the parking lot after a tornado damaged the hospital in Moore, Okla., on Monday. ALONZO ADAMS, AP
This aerial photo shows the remains of houses in Moore, Okla., after a tornado Monday. STEVE GOOCH, AP
Workers continue to dig through the rubble of Plaza Towers Elementary School after a tornado moved through Moore, Okla., on Monday. SUE OGROCKI, AP

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